Margaret "Maggie" Hassan (née Wood; born February 27, 1958) is an American politician who is the 81st and current Governor of New Hampshire. A member of the Democratic Party, Hassan was elected governor in 2012 and was sworn into office on January 3, 2013. She won re-election on November 4, 2014.[1]

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Hassan is a graduate of Brown University and also earned her J.D. from the Northeastern University School of Law. After passing the bar, Hassan began her career entering private practice after graduating from college in 1985. She later became an associate counsel at Brigham and Women's Hospital and reentered private practice in New Hampshire. After losing an initial run for the New Hampshire State Senate in 2002, Hassan was elected to the New Hampshire Senate in 2004. She was elected to a total of three two-year terms, representing the New Hampshire's 23rd district from January 2005 to December 2010. Hassan became the Minority Leader in the State Senate in 2008 before losing reelection 2010.

She worked as an attorney for Sullivan, Weinstein and McQuay, a commercial and business litigation firm, since 1996.[4][5] Her career in public service began in 1999 when she was appointed by Governor Jeanne Shaheen as a citizen advisor to the Advisory Committee to the Adequacy in Education and Finance Commission.[3]

Tenure[edit]

Economic Development Advisory Council – SB 394 (2008) Hassan sponsored this bill, which established an economic development advisory council to aid in the division of economic development and to assist in establishing goals, measurements, and planning efforts related to economic development.[14]

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) – HB 1434 (2008) RGGI is a regional market-based program designed to reduce air pollution at the lowest cost to consumers and businesses. It was instituted by ten northeastern states to help limit carbon emissions, encourage innovation in alternative energy, and improve energy efficiency.[15]

Southeast Watershed Alliance – SB 168 (2009) Hassan chaired the Great Bay Estuary Commission, which led her to sponsor this bill, which repealed the estuary alliance for sewage treatment by replacing it with the Southeast Watershed Alliance. This allows communities to create regional solutions to waste water infrastructure challenges.[16][17]

Education Accountability – SB 180 (2009) SB 180 is the final piece of a three-year legislative effort to define, determine the cost and ensure accountability for delivering a quality education. Under this legislation, schools are required to demonstrate they are providing an opportunity for a quality education either by meeting the school approval standards that relate to adequacy or by demonstrating that their students are meeting academic goals based on various performance measures. The accountability system relies on data that school districts and the state Department of Education already collect.[18]

Blocking Massachusetts Sales Tax Collection – SB 5 (2009) This legislation was a direct response to a Massachusetts proposal to collect taxes on purchases made in New Hampshire by Massachusetts residents. It restricts New Hampshire retailers from disclosing private customer information to other states seeking to collect a sales or use tax.[19]

New Hampshire WARN Act – SB 40 (2009) Requires companies to notify their workers in the event of massive layoffs or plant closings.[20]

Anti-Bullying Bill – HB 1523 (2010) HB 1523 expands existing state law that requires schools to have policies against bullying and adds a new definition for cyber-bullying that addresses bullying through the use of electronic devices including but not limited to "telephones, cellular phones, computers, pagers, electronic mail, instant messaging, text messaging and web sites".[21] The enhanced anti-bullying legislation also requires school districts to educate staff and volunteers so they can recognize and address instances of bullying. Under this legislation, the Department of Education assists local schools and prepares an annual report of each of the substantiated instances of bullying or cyber-bullying for the legislature.

NH Works – SB 501 (2010) Allows existing businesses to scale back their operations without laying off workers. Under this legislation, companies and their workers can agree to reduced hours in place of layoffs and the state must make up part of the lost wages through unemployment benefits. The legislation also called for the Department of Employment Security to develop a system to assess the skills of unemployed workers and help them get skills or certifications that would make it easier for them to find work. A third component allows newly hired workers to continue on unemployment for up to six weeks of on-the-job training. At that time, the employer is able to decide if the worker had the skills needed to continue as a full-fledged employee.[22]

Health Care Access through Purchasing Alliances – SB 408 (2010) SB 408 allows professional and non-profit associations like chambers of commerce that have been in existence for at least 10 years to form alliances for the purpose of purchasing small group health insurance coverage for their employees. The purchasing alliance must include at least 3,000 lives, including policy-holders and family members covered under the policy.[23]

Commission on Health Care Cost Containment – SB 505 (2010) Hassan introduced SB 505, which established a state commission on health care cost containment. The bill was signed into law in July 2010. In 2012, the commission will report its findings on the impact of federal health care reform, options for creating a common payment system and ways to encourage the use of incentives to improve quality and efficiency.[24]

Conner's Law – HB 569 (2010) HB 569 was passed while Hassan was chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Labor and Consumer Protection. The law requires insurance companies to provide coverage of evidence-based, medically necessary autism therapies like ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy. The bill was supported by Autism Speaks, the New Hampshire Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders and the Autism Society of New Hampshire.[25]

Medical Marijuana – HB 573 (2013) HB 573 was signed into law by Maggie Hassan making New Hampshire the 19th state to allow residents with serious illnesses to access and use medical marijuana if their doctors recommend it. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Donna Schlachman(D-Exeter), will allow residents with certain debilitating illnesses, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, and HIV/AIDS, to use medical marijuana if their doctors recommend it.[25]

Recreational Marijuana Veto Threat - HB 492 (2014) According to the Washington Post, "New Hampshire’s House of Representatives on Wednesday approved legalizing marijuana for recreational use, making it the first state legislative chamber ever to do so, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization group." The article continues, "The GOP-led Senate has already rejected a bill that would only have decriminalized pot and Gov. Maggie Hassan has promised to veto legalization."[26]

Workplace Anti-bullying Act - HB 591 (2014) HB 591 was aimed to prohibit employers from subjecting employees to an “abusive work environment.” The bill states that “'[a]busive conduct' means a pattern of incidents involving written, verbal, or electronic communications, or physical acts or gestures, or any combination thereof, directed at another employee or group of employees which intimidates, degrades, or humiliates the target. Such incidents may be overt or covert behavior, or both."[27] All claims filed under the provisions were to be investigated by the commissioner of labor, or the director of personnel of the department of administrative services. Hassan vetoed the bill, saying that it could lead to "lead to a dramatic increase in litigation." The House supported the veto in September 2014.[28]

Governor of New Hampshire[edit]

Elections[edit]

2012[edit]

In October 2011, Hassan announced her candidacy for governor of New Hampshire.[29] She stated that education and jobs would be her focus if elected governor, and that one could not be debated separately from the other. She won the Democratic primary with 53%, defeating former state senator Jacalyn Cilley, who received 39%.

On August 8, 2012, the New Hampshire chapter of the National Education Association endorsed Hassan.[30] Hassan was also endorsed by former U.S. PresidentBill Clinton at a rally in Nashua on July 25.[31] During the campaign, Hassan set fundraising records,[32] which, according to the campaign, demonstrated strong grassroots support. Hassan was also the first gubernatorial candidate in the 2012 elections to launch television advertisements.[33] Hassan took "The Pledge" not to support a state income or sales tax as governor.

In the general election, Hassan defeated Republican nominee Ovide M. Lamontagne by 55% to 43%, carrying every county in the state. Her campaign was managed by Matt Burgess and senior consultants included media consultant Joe Slade White, pollster Al Quinlan, and Senior Advisors Nick Clemmons and Theo Yedinsky.[34]

2014[edit]

On May 30, 2014, Hassan announced her intention to seek a second term.[35] She filed papers for reelection on June 12, 2014. She faced Ian Freeman in the primary election on September 9, 2014. She defeated Republican Walt Havenstein to win a second term in the vote on Nov. 4.[1]

Tenure[edit]

During a a conflict between two sides of the Demoulas family, which owns the Market Basket grocery chain, Hassan urged the family to resolve the dispute, which threatened 9,000 jobs in New Hampshire and could have drained the state's Unemployment Trust Fund.[37]